Abstract
Since the 1990s, the overexploitation of marine resources has led to the degradation of the fisheries’ social-ecological systems (SES). In response to these collapses, scientific fishery studies have tried to develop multiple approaches to improve sustainability of the systems. The purpose of this study is to understand how the scientific literature conceives of the conceptual responses of the fisheries systems to social-ecological changes. Our research, based on a systematic literature review, builds a conceptual framework and highlights the level of importance scientific discourse which has conferred to the notions of uncertainty, resilience, adaptation, and governance in a context of changes in fisheries. The scientific discourse emphasizes relevant paradigms such as social and environmental justice associated with the distribution of resources, consideration of ecological knowledge, and the value associated with marine resources. Conversely, scientific discourse only marginally considers notions of equity, the ecosystem approach, and precaution. In addition to highlighting scientific paradigms framing fisheries systems in the face of social-ecological changes, this study discusses the influence of scientific knowledge-building mechanisms on scientific discourse.
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Acknowledgements
This research could not have been conducted without the help of the inter-institutional group of scientific researchers, Ressources Aquatiques Québec (RAQ), and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). We thank Laure Devine and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.
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Our research is integrated into a scientific research project on the return of groundfish in the estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, funded by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Ressources Aquatiques Québec (RAQ).
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EQ, SP, and LEP contributed to the study conception and design. Literature search and analysis were performed by EQ. The first draft of the manuscript was written by EQ. SP and LEP commented on previous versions of the manuscript. EQ, SP, and LEP read and approved the final manuscript.
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Quillet, E., Plante, S. & Pigeon, LE. Systematic literature review of social-ecological changes in fisheries systems. J Environ Stud Sci 13, 617–628 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-023-00860-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-023-00860-7